


kept us awake with wolves teeth

by orphan_account



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, The Last Jedi
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Force Bond (Star Wars), Healing, Poe's a little jealous, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-03 03:16:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13332333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Poe just met Rey, and frankly he's a little jealous, but there might be something else to his feelings behind the would-be Jedi.spoilers for The Last Jedi.





	kept us awake with wolves teeth

**Author's Note:**

> Lightly edited, but do please comment feedback in comments, its appreciated!

“Where’s Rey?” He asked.  
Those were the first words out of his mouth. Not where am I. Not how bad is it. Not, are we going to die. The stormtrooper, the one who saved Poe. Him. He was standing around, stumbling in a clear bag leaking fluid.

“Where is she?” He asked again.

“Buddy, hang on, we’ve got to get you into some-” He brushed off some bacta fluid from his flight suit, “something to wear.” He began to walk Finn back into the medical bay.

“Well. first. She’s safe.” Finn breathed an audible sigh of relief. “She’s off to find Luke Skywalker and bring him back.”

“Have you heard anything since she left?”

“She left a day ago. I haven’t heard anything.” Poe watched as Finn’s face began to burrow. “I’m sorry... I’m sure she’s fine.” Poe added.

They made their way back to the medical bay. The surgical droids erupted at the sight of Finn, eliciting loud and furious chatter.

“Okay okay, Finn won’t do it again. Yes yes, I’ll tell him.” Poe said to the droids.

“Poe?” Finn looks puzzled.

“It's just that you made… a bit of a mess… the way you left.” Poe responded. “Yes, I’ll come back and fix it just give it a second.” He said amid boops and beeps. “Okay just sit back in the pod for a second. I’ll be right back.”

Poe left the medical bay and began to run towards his own quarters, which was fortunately not too far away. He rushed into his room, and began to fumble with his dresser, gathered everything together and ran back into the medical bay.

“Finn, I’ve got some clothes…” Poe was greeted by the sight of Finn, his bacta suit fallen onto the floor. Poe rushed towards him. “Buddy, why don’t you put these on.” Finn made a bewildered look but took the clothes nonetheless. Poe turned around to give him some privacy and whistled at the same time, because this was casual. He was being casual.

“Commander Dameron to the bridge, Dameron to the bridge.” The voice of lieutenant Connix reverberated from the ship’s PA system.

“Okay buddy, just stay right there. I’ll be back, I just gotta go talk to the general and I’ll be back okay?” Poe said backing away as he ran off to the bridge.

~~~

“Hi, Poe Dameron”

“Rey” She extends her hands out to Poe. Her hands are rough, calloused, like his own.

“I’ve heard a lot about you” he chuckles. She laughs in return.

“Yeah. I’ve heard… a lot about you too” she says. Her face is warm and soft, glowing with something else. The Force probably. It's probably the Force.

“I…” This doesn’t happen to Poe a lot, never, actually, it’s never happened to Poe. He’s talked back to every superior officer he’s ever had, ignored orders from all of them and still, here. Here he’s losing the ability to string words together to resemble coherent thought.

“Poe? Are you okay?” Rey asks. Perhaps it’s because he watched her lift rocks with her fucking mind. It's hard to not be speechless around someone like that.

“Are you cold? I think I might have set the air purifier a little high.” She says, the second half of the sentence seemingly to herself.

“Its… It’s okay, I’m completely fine.” He shrugged off the concern.

“I’ll get you something.” She began to walk off towards… somewhere. This ship was both expansive and cramped at the same time. Poe was left alone and at a loss for what to think. She- her- that girl. She’s the last hope we have. He stumbled into the cockpit and began to study the controls. He peered close to the seat and looked at the various knobs, levers and switches which he could only assume did the same things as they did in an X-Wing.

“Poe!” The voice behind him chirped. Taken completely by surprise, Poe startled himself forwards, tangling himself into the pilot's chair and knocking all the switches and buttons that he was previously admiring.

“Oh!” Rey exclaimed, and pushed Poe’s limbs out of the way, resetting all the switches that Poe’s face and his otherwise very in control body messed with.

“Sorry…” He stumbled out.

“It’s okay… I brought you some tea.” and pushed a mug his way. Poe untangled himself back upright to accept it.

“Thank you, how long have you been flying this thing?” He asked.

“Um…” she looked off into the mid distance. “I think it’s been about five days now? Well. I wasn’t really piloting it for two of those days.” She’s been flying for three days? The way Finn described their scrap in the desert he assumed that she’s been flying all her life. Great. Another thing she’s fantastic at.

“What have you done to this compressor here?” Poe pointed at a switch on the wall.

“Oh, I’ve just modified it so that it injects into the side engine when I need it to” she said.

“But wouldn’t that-” he starts.

“Yes, so I removed the limiter valve and replaced it with a conjoiner and that keeps the whole engine stable.” She says, matter of fact.  
Great. So, she’s a fantastic pilot, a brilliant mechanic and can lift rocks and has a very big laser sword and could slice him in two should she choose. Wonderful. Great. So great.

He takes a sip from the warm mug between his hands. Oh, and she makes really good tea too. Cool.  
“I’m sorry, I’m going to go check on Finn” she said getting up. “Hey, tell me about flying a Tie Fighter later. Finn never shuts up about it.”

That’s funny, thought Poe. He never shuts up about you. Maybe Finn just needs to learn how to keep his trap shut.

She left Poe sitting in the pilot’s seat as he cradled the mug between his hands. Poe fingered the raised patterning on the porcelain and traced it as it moved back and forth, weaving between two separate lines, unable to connect with one or the other.

\----

It's been three days and there was at least six more before they reached the next rebel outpost. The requests for help have still gone unanswered, for all they knew, the last of the Resistance could have been walking into a trap. The cramped quarters of the Millennium Falcon didn’t exactly help either. With so many people living on a such a small smuggling vessel, people are bound to get on each other’s nerves. Specifically, Poe’s. He shared a small compartment with some of the other pilots but would often pop into Finn’s room to make sure he had everything he needed. Finn had saved his life. Poe had brought him into the Resistance, he was responsible for him, it was the least he could do. Finn shared a small room with Rey and Rose, both of whom he insisted on watching over personally.

Poe walked into the room and found Finn sitting in the chair by Rose’s side. Finn looked away from the holopad he had been reading from and smiled at Poe as entered.

“Poe.” Finn smiles just at the sight of Poe and it’s one of those smiles that forces you to create your own pale horrific imitation which will never compare to the original.

“Hey buddy. Is Rose up?” Poe says as he attempts to stifle the counterfeit on his face.

“No, she’s sleeping right now. What’s going on?” Finn asks.

“Nothing. I just need some conductor cables, and apparently they’re in here?”

“Sorry, I don’t know where they are exactly, but I think they might be in this box.” Finn got up to rummage the cupboard and pulls out a black container. He spent a couple of seconds checking cables before looking back at Poe. “I just realised that I have no idea what the cables you want look like” and handed the box to Poe. Poe placed it on the floor and on his knees began to sort through the cables.

“Hey Poe” Finn begins.

“Yeah buddy?”

“Did Rey do something you don’t like or something like that?”

“No. At least I don’t think so.”

“Oh, okay. Do you like her?”

“Sure. she’s great.”

“Okay.”

“Why, what did she say?” Poe said while staring at cables.

“Oh nothing.”

“Got it. Thanks buddy.” Poe moved the box back into the the cupboard.

“Anytime…” Finn muttered as Poe left the room.

Later that night, the door to his room opened and the sudden light had woken him and some of the other pilots up. Jessika Pava issued a groan and waved for the door to shut again. There was a tall figure in the doorway and its voice was strict and tight.

“Dameron, outside” the voice demanded.

“Someone’s in trouble” Jessika sang.

“Shut it Pava” Poe muttered as he attempted to move through the tangle of bodies in the room.  
Poe’s yawned and squinted as he walked down the ships corridors following the figure until they reached a dead end. By this time his eyes had woken up and saw the robe clad figure he was following.

“Rey?”

“Down the ladder” her voice was firm and taut, nothing like it was the other day.

“What?” He spluttered.

“Down the ladder” she repeated.

Poe moved to his knees and began shuffling down the ladder. Rey was not very far behind. Poe moved into the seat to allow room for her to come in.

“What’s going on? Why are we here?” he asked finally.

“What’s your problem with me?” She asked. Her brow furrowed, and all the softness of her face had tightened into something harsh.

“Nothing. You’re great.”

“Really? Finn didn’t seem to think so.”

“What? Where’s Finn?”

“He’s sleeping.”

“Rey. I think you’re great.”

He stared out the turret port. They had exited out of hyperspace and were pausing for a moment to refuel and gather additional supplies on a small station orbiting the planet known as Darkin V on the outer-rim. The planet was exceptionally purple. According to the analysts it was due to the gases which occurred as a side effect from the extensive mining operation which had taken over this entire system.

The planet was split into two and was being held together by large metal anchors on its lower half. At the centre a purple gas flowed from the planet core.

Poe looked back at Rey, who had never broken her stare. She sat to the side, unimpressed and unmoved.

“What else do you want me to say?” He said while shaking his head.

The gas flowed out of the planet profusely, as if there was little to stop the bleeding. It would flow outwards and joined the mist which covered the planet.

“I’ve been flying this ship for 5 days. On the first, me and Finn were flying away from Jakku trying to escape the First Order. Finn sat where you are now. And I was up in the cockpit. I had known him for all of five minutes before we flew this plane together. Five minutes, and then we had to trust each other with our lives. You and I have that in common. In those five minutes the only thing he wanted to do was protect me. I didn’t need it, but that was more than anything anyone has ever given me before. I didn’t realise until I was dragging him away from Kylo Ren.” Her eyes broke away from Poe, her fingers explored the fabric of the chair.

“He likes you. A lot. And he wants us to be friends. Real friends. I would like that too. So please, what is going on?” The tightness of her voice dissolved and melted back into soft warmth.

“I… did Finn ever tell you what happened on the cruiser?” Poe stuttered.

“No” she said.

“I had hidden away the map to Skywalker and then I was captured. They wanted to know where BB-8 went. I had withstood everything they could throw at me. And then Kylo Ren came in, and he stretched and pushed his way inside, and there was nothing I could do about it, and sometimes I can still feel him there. Inside. And I- I haven’t been able to get him out. And I don’t know why I’m angry at you about it. Maybe because you think he still has something good in him or maybe because you might be able to do the same thing. And I’m scared of you. And I know I shouldn’t be. But I’m terrified.” h

Rey moved closer to Poe until she knelt near his side. He was breathing fast now. His voice sometimes hitching.

“And I know Finn trusts you. And I want to like you, I really want to.” Poe added.

“Can I touch you?” She asked.

He nodded.

She took his hand and grasped it gently.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered.  
Poe’s hands are growing clammy, but it takes a lot to tear it away from Rey, so he doesn’t.

“I can do this thing. Where I can connect our minds together. And you can feel what I feel.” She speaks softly. “What if I just give you how I’m feeling, very slowly and you can tell me if you want more okay?”

He nods.

“Okay. Tell me how I’m feeling right now Poe.” Rey asks.

“You’re really warm. You’re thinking about Finn, you’re always thinking about him. You want to keep him near, where you can keep him safe. And you’re thinking about Leia, and Luke ... I’m sorry, I didn’t know he was gone.”

“It’s okay. Tell me how I feel about you.” She prompts.

“You feel ... warm. You trust me. You’re a little scared too” he said.

“I’m afraid I’m not doing this right. We’re all scared sometimes. I’m going to think about something okay. You can feel this with me.”

“Okay.”

“Now tell me what you see.”

“I feel cramped. The sun is setting. I can hear you scratching something on the wall. This is mark four thousand and sixteen. You feel alone. It's much colder now. You’re hungry. It was an empty run today. There’s something else. Something warm. Something small. You’re hoping that they will come back. You don’t want to let this go.”

“They don’t come back. They’re dead. Somewhere in the sand, maybe in a wreckage like mine” she said, her eyes still staring at poe.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Finn’s here. Leia’s here. You. You’re here.” Rey squeezes his hand.

“I’m going to open up, so I can feel what you can feel. Is that okay? If it’s too much just tell me.”

“Okay.”

“Now feel whatever you want to feel… yes. Finn is wonderful. He is pretty. I think so too. If you don’t tell, I won’t. Promise. Oh, me. You… Oh ...” Rey giggled and for a second, Poe felt like he was in control again. “You can still feel what I feel.” She reminded him.

“Thank you.” He laughs.

Poe and Rey giggle until they let themselves rest.  
“Okay, just think about anything, anything…” She says, trying to get back on track.

Poe breathes in and feels Rey’s skin, there are spots where the skin has calloused over, toughened and solid.

“I was in the desert for my whole life. It was at least three years before I managed to trade enough for good gloves. They’re still in the wreckage I lived in… at least I hope no one has taken them” she said.

He lets his fingers drift around her hands. He finds spots where the skin is especially raw, wounds which have only just healed over.

“Do you ever think about going home?” Poe asks.

“Home? Home is up that tunnel and then three rooms over.” Rey answered.

Poe feels the warmth blossom within his own chest. Something encloses itself around him, he recognises its intensity, tight, but not suffocating, as if he was going to be lost and needed to be held in place. As if here was the only place he would be kept safe.

“Okay, now think about anything, anything at all...” she continued. “Oh. you built that yourself? Wow. Did you use a split engine? Oh, you were nine, okay I guess it's forgiven. By the way, remind me to show you something later, I did a really cool- I’ll tell you later,” she said, attempting to suppress her excitement. “Okay if you actually hit that tree it's really going to hurt. Oh, thank goodness.”

They both suddenly burst out into sudden laughter.

“I can’t believe you stole those plans from under their noses… Your parents they had you running missions from so young… They loved you so much.”

“I miss them a lot.” Poe can smell smoke wafting off a candle.

“I know.” Rey grips Poe’s hand tighter. “I wanted to do something, before… I got scared… I wanted to thank you.” She whispers.

“For what? You saved me, you saved the Resistance.”

“For Finn. For bringing him to me.”

“You brought him back.”

“The way he talks about you, his eyes light up. Like you’re the only worthwhile thing in this world.”

“You should hear him talk about you. It never ends. It's always did you see that move Poe pulled and yes of course I’m wearing this, Poe does ... To be fair it does look very good on him … you too.” She chuckles.

Poe blushes and he can’t really remember a time when that last happened.

“… could you turn it on again? Connect us, I mean,” he asks.

She nods.

“Can you feel what I’m feeling?” He whispers. She nods again. “Tell me.”

“I feel warm. Warmer than before. There is a little bit of fear there, but it’s quiet,” she says.

“I can’t use the Force... I don’t know how it works, but I think I know how to let you feel what I feel... lean in closer,” he asks.

Their faces glide closer together, Poe gently lowers her head and lets it rest on the left side of his chest.

“Can you feel what I’m feeling?” Her voice was muffled against his jacket.

Poe closes his eyes as he listens to the steady thump of a heart.

Below them the gases flow from the cracked planet.

They drift outwards and fall into place.

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from Heartbeats by The Knife which is on the nose I guess.


End file.
